South Korea and IEA Launch Initiative to Strengthen Energy Resilience. China's Electrification Rate Higher Than Major Developed Economies in Europe and the US
（2026/9/21—2026/9/27）
Author: Shu-Xin Zhang
International Energy News
1. South Korea and IEA Launch Initiative to Strengthen Energy Resilience
Recently, South Korea's Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment (MCEE) signed a memorandum of understanding with the International Energy Agency (IEA) to launch RISE ASIA, a new initiative aimed at strengthening energy security in Asia.
MCEE will work with the IEA on joint research to finalize specific measures and implementation plans, developing the initiative into a flagship international platform for South Korea to lead energy transition and security cooperation in Asia.
RISE ASIA will focus on comprehensive assessments of the supply and demand of traditional energy and resources, as well as power system stability.
Priorities include accelerating the transition to renewable energy and electrification to reduce dependence on imported fossil fuels, and building power systems to support demand growth driven by artificial intelligence and data centers.
2. Rising Energy Costs Weigh on German Consumer Confidence
A latest survey released on September 25, 2026 shows that German consumer confidence weakened more than expected in October, as rising energy prices worsened household income prospects.
The consumer confidence index, published by the Nuremberg Institute for Market Decisions (NIM) and GfK, fell to -30.6 points in October from a revised -26.8 points in September. The survey data shows a notable divergence among core sub-indicators: the income expectations sub-index suffered a sharp drop, falling 16.7 points to -15.0, the lowest level since April 2026. This came shortly before a fuel discount policy was introduced. As a result, consumers became more doubtful about their income prospects over the next 12 months.
The survey found that household savings willingness jumped 6 percentage points to 21.5 as consumers responded to rising energy costs, reaching its highest level since the 2008 financial crisis. NIM said this increase was particularly pronounced among wealthier households. Purchase willingness edged down 1 point to -10.8, only slightly above -11.6 a year earlier, and has hovered around that level for more than three years.
By contrast, economic expectations rose 0.5 percentage points to -3.4, the fifth consecutive increase, as the German economy performed better than expected in the first half of 2026.
3. Civil Works Begin on Substation for Oman JBB ALI 123MW Wind Power EPC Project
On September 16, civil works for the substation of the Oman JBB ALI 123MW Wind Power EPC Project, led by China Energy Engineering Group East China Electric Power Design Institute (ECEPDI), officially began. The joint venture project team comprising ECEPDI, China Power Engineering Consulting Group International and Hunan Thermal Power, along with owner EDF Group's project company Saba Jalan and relevant participating units, attended the commencement ceremony, marking the project's official entry into a new stage of substantive construction.
The Oman JBB ALI Wind Power Project is ECEPDI's first overseas wind power EPC project and a core key project for the company to deepen its presence in the Omani market and achieve rolling development. It is of milestone significance for implementing the company's international development strategy and expanding its overseas new energy market footprint.
The start of the substation civil works is a key milestone in the project's construction process. Next, the joint venture project team will unite efforts, overcome difficulties, strictly uphold safety and quality standards, strictly enforce construction standards, efficiently coordinate construction progress, and advance refined management throughout the project's entire process, making every effort to ensure high-standard, high-quality project delivery, build a high-quality benchmark overseas new energy project, and continue to enhance ECEPDI's international engineering construction brand.
Domestic energy news
1. 29.5%! China's Electrification Rate Higher Than Major Developed Economies in Europe and the US
On September 22, the "China Electrification Annual Development Report 2026," compiled by the China Electricity Council, was released at the 2026 New Power System Development (Chongli) Forum. The report shows that China's electrification rate in 2025 was approximately 29.5%, up 1.4 percentage points from the previous year and higher than major developed economies in Europe and the US. As the largest terminal energy source in China, electricity's share of terminal energy consumption was 3.1 percentage points higher than that of coal. China has become a major driving force in the global electrification process, contributing more than 80% to the growth of the world's electrification rate since 2015.
By region, the electrification rates of eastern, central, western and northeastern China were approximately 30.9%, 27.2%, 30.4% and 17.2% respectively; the electrification rates of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, the Yangtze River Delta, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and the Chengdu-Chongqing Economic Circle were approximately 23.0%, 34.6%, 41.1% and 30.2% respectively, with the Chengdu-Chongqing Economic Circle exceeding 30% for the first time. All provinces saw positive growth in electrification rates, with Guangdong exceeding 40% and Qinghai, Zhejiang, Yunnan and Jiangsu all exceeding 35%.
The report notes that in 2025, China's industrial electrification rate was approximately 28.0%, the building electrification rate was approximately 58.0%, the transportation electrification rate was approximately 6.9%, and the electrification rate of agriculture and rural residents' daily life was 49.6%, all increasing from the previous year.
The report predicts that in the next three years, electrification rates in the building and transportation sectors are expected to accelerate, driving the national electrification rate to exceed 34% by 2029. It is estimated that in the next decade, China's low-carbon electrification rate will increase by approximately 13 percentage points cumulatively, 30% higher than the increase in the electrification rate over the same period.
2. First Variable-Speed Pumped Storage Project in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Fully Begins Water Storage
Recently, the upper and lower reservoirs of the Guangdong Zhaoqing Langjiang Pumped Storage Power Station simultaneously began water storage, marking that the first variable-speed pumped storage project in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area has officially entered the final sprint stage before commissioning.
The upper and lower reservoirs of the station have an altitude difference of approximately 440 meters. Two dams have been built — one 94 meters high and 530 meters long, and the other 73 meters high and 595 meters long — with a total reservoir capacity of approximately 18 million cubic meters, equivalent to 1.3 times that of West Lake. Once sufficiently filled, the station can convert 1.12 million cubic meters of water energy into 1.2 million kWh of clean electricity per hour, meeting the daily electricity demand of approximately 200,000 residential users in the Greater Bay Area.
The start of water storage is a key milestone in the construction of a pumped storage power station, meaning that the main part of the project is basically completed and has entered the "commissioning wrap-up period."
The station is the first in southern China to adopt the "storage-supplement combined, graded control" method for water storage. According to a relevant person in charge, in addition to storing natural rainfall, water will also be diverted from nearby rivers into the reservoirs to speed up water storage and create basic conditions for water testing of the station's units; at the same time, the water storage speed will be controlled in grades according to altitude, with more than 740 monitoring points tracking key data such as dam deformation and settlement, striving to safely and steadily store 4 million cubic meters of water within the year.
As a project supported by China's first (set) major technical equipment in the energy sector, the station is equipped with China's first domestically produced variable-speed pumped storage unit and three conventional fixed-speed units. Among them, the variable-speed pumped storage unit can change its speed by 7% to achieve a wide range of adjustment of approximately 50% in pumping power, better promoting the stable grid connection of volatile new energy sources such as wind power and photovoltaics.
At present, China's first domestically produced variable-speed pumped storage unit is being intensively installed, while the other conventional fixed-speed units have entered the commissioning stage. The first unit of the station is expected to be put into operation for power generation before the end of the year.
3. China Built More Than 2,500 Kilometers of Main Oil and Gas Pipelines This Year
Since the beginning of this year, China has continued to accelerate the construction of national-level oil and gas trunk lines, provincial pipeline networks and direct-supply pipelines, and an interconnected, safe and efficient "national unified oil and gas network" is taking shape at an accelerated pace.
In Jiangsu, since the Lianyungang-Huai'an section of the 143.8-kilometer, ten-million-ton-level Lianyungang-Yizheng crude oil pipeline was put into operation, its maximum daily oil transmission volume has reached 70,000 tons, effectively enhancing the oil and gas resource guarantee capacity of areas along the Yangtze River.
Data shows that since the beginning of this year, China has built more than 2,500 kilometers of main oil and gas pipelines, bringing the total length of main oil and gas pipelines to 112,900 kilometers, covering 30 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities as well as the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, and forming a natural gas backbone pipeline network pattern of "four major strategic corridors + five vertical and five horizontal lines."
While the main pipeline network is being accelerated, its extension to counties and the grassroots level is continuously opening up the "last mile" of oil and gas supply. In Longyan, Fujian, the construction of the Liancheng branch natural gas pipeline project of the third West-East Gas Pipeline has officially started. Once completed, Liancheng County will achieve direct county-level pipeline natural gas supply. In Qiannan, Guizhou, with the recent commissioning of the Changshun branch natural gas pipeline, all six branches of the local "county-county access" project have been connected to the national main pipeline network, and more than 28,000 households now have access to gas.
According to the plan, by 2030, China will add 20,000 kilometers of new long-distance oil and gas pipelines, bringing the scale of the national long-distance oil and gas pipeline network to 220,000 kilometers.
(Main news sources: CCTVNEWS APP, Xinhua New Media, International Energy Network, China Energy Network, National Energy Administration)
